This invention relates to a vehicle body with a rear cargo compartment covered by a cargo cover which is movable between a covering position and a stowed position.
Prior art vehicles have been configured as trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and cross-overs such as the Avalanche(copyright) made by General Motors Corporation. They are all utilitarian in that compartments are provided for cargo and passengers. Some have a midgate between the compartments to facilitate pass-through. Others have a midgate to subdivide the bed of a pickup truck and a movable cover to enclose a lockable section of the bed (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,497 issued to Cheng, Jul. 2, 1996). The passenger compartment is normally covered, and may include a sunroof. The cargo compartment has in the past been provided with a cover which is removable for access to the cargo compartment and replaceable to protect the cargo from the elements. Such prior art covers are labor-intensive in folding up to remove and store. They collect dirt and are heavy when they have to be removed from inside the bed area. This also requires climbing into the bed. There are other covers such as soft bed covers, standard tip-up bed covers, roll up sunshade-type covers, all of which impede midgate flexibility.
This invention provides the rear cargo compartment of a vehicle with a lid or cover storage system for covering cargo in the rear compartment. The cover is hinged in the front by a hinge-guide member which is movably attached to a set of guides or rails fixed on the roof. A single piece cover is first moved by tipping it up along the leading edge and then using tracks or rails to move the cover up to the roof. During normal operation, the cover may be opened and closed like a trunk lid. The height of a tipped-up cover should be easily reachable by the user. During transport of tall items, the cover of this invention can be moved out of the way for storage on the roof of the vehicle. Between the closed and stowed positions, the cargo cover has intermediate raised positions horizontally above the rear compartment. These raised positions may be used to convert the rear compartment to a camper or to haul long cargos. A transfer system controls the movement of the cover and includes the guide rails, hinge-guide members and extendable struts. Cover movement is accomplished by a modified motor-driven cable such as used in sunroofs. The cable pulls the cover along the guide rail onto the roof. Once on the roof, the cover is secured. During movement of the cover from a stowed position to a covering position, the cover is guided at its front edge by a pair of guide rails on opposite sides of the passenger compartment and by a pair of gas struts at the rear of the cover. The struts may be extendable or telescopic. They may also be automatic and power operated so that struts can be stopped in interim positions or shortened to minimize the overall height of the cover in its tipped-up position and to restrain the forward movement of the cover in its stowed position.
No interior storage space is lost for stowage of the covers and there are no dirty covers to fold up or panels to remove and store. The operation may require no lifting and the operator never has to leave the ground. A lockable secure storage area easily converts to an open storage area by moving the self-stowing cargo cover to the roof area. The movement of the cover may be initiated by a switch on a key fob or by one or more switches on the vehicle. A hinge-guide member includes a roller bracket design, which prevents seal scrub or abrasion and allows the roof track to be inside of the outboard edge of the cargo cover. This track also provides a rest surface for the stowed cover and is configured as a lift assist for failed gas struts. The track may also be configured to serve as a luggage rack.
In general, the hinge-guide member is attached to a threaded cable which is pinion-driven to move the cover between stowed and covering positions. The transfer system is power-operated to ease its operation. A pair of motors may be used to rotate the pinions which drive the cable. A properly sized single motor may also be used. The motors are on the roof of the vehicle body in front of the guide rails. A spoiler at this location is used to deflect air flow when the vehicle is moving and to cover the motors for protection from the environment. The spoiler may be configured to blend the juncture of stowed cover and spoiler into an aesthetic appearance.
The hinge-guide member of the transfer system has a guide portion or roller bracket which is in a movably guideable relationship with the guide rails and a hinge portion which enables pivoting of the cover. The guide portion of the hinge guide member includes rollers which interfit with a C-shape track or rail portion of the assembly during cover travel. The transfer system also defines spaced cableways on opposite sides of the C-shape track to guide and receive the threaded cable portions as they are pullingly driven and pushingly payed out by the teeth of a rotating pinion or pinions.
Each guide rail or track of the transfer system is positioned along the top and back of the passenger compartment. The rail angles at substantially 55 degrees and 45 minutes where the rail at a 150 mm radius curves from the top to the back of the passenger compartment so that the cover can travel smoothly between covering, camper and stowed positions. This travel results in movement through substantially a 130 degree track angle. This angle is not critical and includes a range of angles that is package dependent. The 150 mm radius is not critical. It is important, however, that the radius be sufficient to reduce binding of the cable attachment in the track. A larger radius allows for a longer more robust attachment of the cable to the roller bracket. The cable attachment is sufficiently long to carry the required load in pulling the cargo cover without binding in either the straight or curved portions of the track. The radius also needs to be large enough to facilitate smooth movement of the cover and interface cable loading. The chosen degree of track angle allows for the use of a mechanical dovetail retention along the leading edge of the cover. The track angle also cooperates with the configuration of the roller bracket to maintain the functionality of the midgate and the midgate sealing.
Accordingly, the invention is for a vehicle body defining a passenger compartment, a cargo compartment, and a midgate opening between the passenger compartment and the cargo compartment. A cargo cover is selectively movable between a first position for covering the cargo compartment and a second position for uncovering the cargo compartment. The combination includes a transfer system for moving the cargo cover by cable between the first and second positions. The transfer system comprises a rail overlaying the passenger compartment at the second position and curvingly extending about 55 degrees from the passenger compartment to the midgate opening and the cargo compartment at the first position. The radius of the curve is sufficiently large to facilitate smooth movement of the cover and interface cable loading. The transfer system also comprises a hinge-guide member which has a guide portion or roller bracket in a movably guideable relationship with the rail and a hinge portion in a pivotable hinge relationship with one portion of the cargo cover. The roller bracket may be configured as a bifurcated roller support with a curved extension for the hinge. The transfer system also comprises an extendable strut which has one end in pivotably fixed or slidable relationship to the vehicle body, with another end in pivotably fixed relationship to another portion of the cargo cover. The length of the strut selected determines the maximum height the cover can reach in its movement and limits the forward movement of the cover in its stowed position. The strut can be shortened to minimize or limit the highest movement of the cover in its travel. This means less than the seven foot opening of a garage door at the tip-up position of the cover and throughout its travel to the roof stowed position. A movement controlling strut may also be used to stop the cover in predetermined interim positions short of a sunroof or roof edge or rail end and to stay clear of any antenna or other obstruction as it reaches the stowed position.
The invention also includes a transfer system for raising a cover from a lower position against the seal of a midgate opening to a raised position remote from the seal. The system includes a rail curvingly extendable from the raised position toward a seal at the lower position. The transfer system also includes a hinge-guide member positionable between the cover and the curved rail and having a hinge portion and a guide portion and in which the guide portion has a bifurcated roller bracket with a pair of spaced rollers rotatably movable along the curve of the guide rail and a curved extension pivotably connected to the hinge portion. The location of the hinge portion with respect to the cover and the configuration of the curved extension on the roller bracket, the curve of the rail and the tangential connection of the cable to roller bracket all cooperate surprisingly to assist in raising the cover without scrubbing the seals when the transfer system is used for raising the cover.
The transfer system also has a drivable threaded cable to which the roller bracket is tangentially connected at the curved rail and a transmission including one or more rotatable pinions in a driving relationship with the cable and operable to pull the cable to move the cargo cover and to push the cable to stow the cable as the cargo cover is moved. The cargo cover may be held in its stowed or other positions by the rack and pinion relationship between threaded cable and pinion. This means the cover cannot back-drive the pinion motor. Two or more pinions may be used to reduce the load between cable and pinion. This allows a light duty cable to handle a 30 G load requirement.
The hinge-guide member of the transfer system interconnects the curved rail to the movable cover. The guide portion of the hinge-guide member has a bifurcated end and a curved extension. A roller is on each branch of the bifurcation and is adapted for rotatable movement with respect to the rail. A cable attachment bracket is removably connectable with the roller bracket and includes a cable interface crimpable onto the cable and tangent to the rail. The hinge portion is pivotably connected to the curved extension and adapted for affixation to the cover.
One or more latches may be provided for securing the cargo cover in at least one of its positions.
The vehicle body of this invention may include a spoiler on the passenger compartment in front of the cargo cover in its stowed position to deflect airflow when the vehicle body is moving and to protect any motor or transmission in the transfer system.